PHOENIX — In an effort to track the changes with the coronavirus outbreak in Arizona, 12 News has started a daily live blog.
Here is the live blog for Thursday, Dec. 17.
Major updates:
- There have been 435,036 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 7,677 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona as of Thursday.
- The state does not record how many people have recovered, but Johns Hopkins University estimates the number of people who have recovered.
- You can find COVID-19 testing sites here.
- Scroll down to see how many cases are in each ZIP code and additional information.
COVID-19 cases reported in Arizona on Thursday
There have been 435,036 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 7,677 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona, according to the state's latest numbers.
That's an increase from the 429,219 confirmed cases and 7,530 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Wednesday.
A week ago, there were 387,529 cases and 7,514 deaths reported in Arizona.
LEER EN ESPANOL: Coronavirus en Arizona el 17 de diciembre: 5,817 casos nuevos y 147 decesos se reportan el jueves
5,817 new cases, 147 new deaths reported Thursday
The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 5,817 new cases and 147 new deaths on Thursday.
The department did not say whether the high death number was due to death certificate matching.
The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients rose to 3,884 on Wednesday as the number of hospital beds not in use continued to shrink, with those available down to a pandemic low of 7%.
Arizona’s cases, deaths and hospitalizations were already steadily rising before Thanksgiving, when gatherings and travel were expected to further spread the coronavirus.
The department reports the number of new cases on the day the cases were reported to them by counties and hospitals, not on the day when someone was diagnosed with the virus.
Arizona reached 400,000 coronavirus cases on Dec. 12, 300,000 on Nov. 23, 200,000 on Aug. 27, 100,000 on July 6 and 50,000 cases on June 21. The state reached 7,000 coronavirus deaths on Dec. 9, 6,000 on Nov. 3, 5,000 on Aug. 29, 4,000 on Aug. 6, 3,000 deaths on July 23, 2,000 on July 9 and 1,000 on June 5.
Arizona's Rt, pronounced r-naught, was at 1.19 as of Tuesday, down from 1.21 on Monday but still the state with the highest rate of spread in the nation.
The Rt is essentially a mathematical number that shows whether more people are becoming infected or less.
The concern is that any Rt over 1, no matter how small, means the virus may grow exponentially.
There were 7,823 cases reported on the collection date of Nov. 30, the day with the most collected diagnoses so far. The day with the second-most collected diagnoses so far was on Dec. 7, with 7,644 cases. That is subject to change.
Health officials said the day with the highest number of reported deaths was July 17, when 103 people died. That is subject to change.
Health officials continued to stress that people should continue social distancing, wearing masks in public, and stay home when possible.
Here is the latest on COVID-19 vaccines in Arizona on Thursday
Team 12's Jen Wahl and Trisha Hendricks have the latest on the COVID-19 vaccines in Arizona on Thursday, Dec. 17.
Ducey touts vaccine as open hospital beds hit record low
Gov. Doug Ducey is imploring people to get the COVID-19 vaccine when they’re eligible.
The governor on Wednesday called the vaccine “our best shot at returning to normalcy.”
Ducey spoke to reporters while visiting the state fairgrounds, where Banner Health plans to start vaccinating health care workers this week.
Arizona's limited vaccine doses will go first to health care workers and nursing home residents, followed by other essential workers and vulnerable adults before healthy people are eligible.
Arizona on Wednesday reported 108 new deaths attributed to COVID-19. Hospitals hit record occupancy with 92% of beds filled.
Half of beds had COVID-19 patients.
The above article is from The Associated Press.
Pima County health director tests positive
The Pima County Health Department director tested positive for COVID-19.
Dr. Theresa Cullen tested positive on Tuesday as part of an apparent outbreak in the department, officials said Wednesday.
Officials did not say whether Cullen was ill or asymptomatic.
The source of the outbreak was still under investigation.
County Chief Medical Officer Dr. Francisco Garcia said a protest at the department headquarters on Dec. 10 “may make that tracing effort extremely difficult.“
The protesters were protesting health department COVID-19 protection and enforcement actions. Garcia said some entered the building lobby and few wore masks.
Garcia also noted that there was at least one COVID-19 positive health department employee reported a few days before the protest.
The health department outbreak involves 11 employees.
Several others who had close contacts with the positive employees were asked to isolate at home for at least 10 days and were advised to get tested.
Employees who work at the department headquarters are being offered testing.
They will also be moved to other work locations or work from home while the affected floors are being sanitized.
The county administrator is also requiring hundreds of employees to stay home for three weeks, officials said.
“This just goes to prove that when there is substantial community spread of the virus like we’re experiencing now throughout the county, the virus can get into your homes and places of work any number of ways no matter how vigilant you are being with your precautions,” Garcia said in a statement.
More than 300 of the roughly 7,000 county employees have contracted COVID-19 since the outbreak began in February.
More than 60 of them, or about 20%, tested positive in the past two weeks.
According to county testing data, there are more than 8,000 people in Pima County who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past seven days and nearly 15,000 since Dec. 1.
MLB tells managers to expect on-time spring training start
Big league managers say Major League Baseball instructed them to prepare for spring training to start on time in mid-February despite uncertainty around the coronavirus.
Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash said the league is optimistic about an on-time start after the commissioner's office spoke with managers Tuesday.
Managers say they expect the 2021 season to start with health protocols in place to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks, but they also don't plan to mandate vaccines for players when one is made available.
The above article is from The Associated Press.
Navajo Nation reports another 160 COVID cases plus 4 deaths
Navajo Nation health officials on Wednesday reported 160 new COVID-19 cases for the second consecutive day plus four more related deaths.
In all, the tribe now has reported 20,095 coronavirus cases resulting in 731 deaths since the pandemic began.
Health officials say more than 186,000 people on the vast reservation that covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah have been tested and nearly 11,000 have recovered from COVID-19.
Navajo Department of Health officials say 77 communities on the reservation still have uncontrolled spread of the coronavirus.
The Navajo Nation has extended its stay-at-home order though Dec. 28 in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus.
The above article is from The Associated Press.
Arizona health department sets up hotline to report businesses
The Arizona Department of Health Services has set up two ways for people to report local businesses that are not following COVID-19 guidelines.
People can report businesses through a hotline or through an online form:
- Submit a complaint online at www.azhealth.gov/complianceCOVID19
- Calling the COVID-19 Compliance Hotline at 1-844-410-2157
“There’s a role for the public as well: If you believe a business isn’t following these requirements, which were established for the safety of customers, employees, and the broader public, ADHS encourages you to share your concerns so local and state officials can follow up as needed,” AZDHS said in a statement.
Free masks available for some Arizonans
The Arizona Department of Health Services announced that some Arizonans would be able to get free masks from the state.
The department partnered with Hanes to provide free face masks to Arizona’s most vulnerable populations.
Anyone who is part of a vulnerable population (including, but not limited to, individuals with medical conditions or individuals age 65 or older), a student (or parents on behalf of students), school staff member or who may not be able to purchase one is able to get a free mask.
Each other will provide five washable, reusable cloth face masks, one order per household.
The department hopes to give out two million cloth face masks.
Anyone with questions can visit the department's FAQs page or contact Hanes at 1-800-503-6698.
Arizona releases ZIP code locations of coronavirus cases, other data
The Arizona Department of Health Services has released expanded data points regarding coronavirus cases in the state.
The AZDHS website now features the location of confirmed cases in Arizona by zip code.
You can see the current ZIP code map here and can find yours by clicking around or searching for your ZIP code in the top right of the map.
More information on coronavirus cases from Thursday
There have been 435,036 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 7,677 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona.
That's an increase from the 429,219 confirmed cases and 7,530 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Wednesday.
There were 5,817 new cases reported on Thursday, an increase from the 4,848 new cases reported on Wednesday.
There was 147 new deaths reported on Thursday, an increase from the 108 new deaths reported on Wednesday.
There were 7,823 cases reported on the collection date of Nov. 30, the day with the most collected diagnoses so far. The day with the second-most collected diagnoses so far was on Dec. 7, with 7,644 cases. That is subject to change.
Health officials said the day with the highest number of reported deaths was July 17, when 103 people died. That is subject to change.
In total, 23,940 new tests were reported on Thursday, an increase from the 16,657 new tests reported on Wednesday.
There have been a total of 2,964,436 PCR and Serology tests reported to the state as of Thursday.
11.3% of those tests have been positive as of Thursday, the same as Wednesday.
Here's a breakdown of the number of cases in each county:
- Maricopa: 269,744
- Pima: 55,801
- Pinal: 22,926
- Coconino: 9,595
- Navajo: 10,030
- Apache: 6,673
- Mohave: 9,253
- La Paz: 1,114
- Yuma: 23,550
- Graham: 2,706
- Cochise: 5,622
- Santa Cruz: 5,158
- Yavapai: 8,696
- Gila: 3,826
- Greenlee: 342
Click on the links below to find more information from each county's health department:
COVID-19 is believed to be primarily spread through coughs or sneezes.
It may be possible for the virus to spread by touching a surface or object with the virus and then a person touching their mouth, nose or eyes, but this is not thought to be the main method of spread, the CDC says.
You should consult your doctor if you traveled to an area currently affected by COVID-19 and feel sick with fever, cough or difficulty breathing.
There is no vaccine for the coronavirus, so the best way to prevent COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases is to:
- Wear face coverings while in public.
- Practice social distancing while in public.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
- Clean and disinfect frequently-touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
You can text FACTS to 602-444-1212 to receive more information on the coronavirus and to ask questions.
